In The Hobbit, the Dwarves, Bilbo and Gandalf are on a mission to rob
Smaug. But why did he have so much to steal from? He's a Dragon! He is not
the kind of dragon that eats gold and gems. He doesn't need wealth to buy a
luxury cavern and/or pay his servant. Why did Smaug gather his treasure?

What happened to the carcass of Smaug after the events of The Hobbit?I
remember reading that Smaug fell into the flaming ruins of Laketown (and
that many tried to dive in later for the riches it may have carried?) - but
what then? Was the carcass left there to rot? Could visitors see its bare,
huge bones stick out of the water?

There are nine main Weasleys in the Harry Potter books. Most of whom got
inured in the course of the books.Arthur:Bill:Fred:George:Ron:Ginny:I can't
remember if Molly, Charlie, or Percy suffered any significant injures
(obviously cuts and bruises from various confrontations). Can anyone quote
any major injuries to those three?

In Return of the Jedi Luke displays a greater affinity with the Force and
increased skill with the lightsaber, not to mention having learned to build
his own. Where did Luke hone his skills between Empire Strikes Back and
Return of the Jedi? Did he return to Dagobah and train with Yoda, or did he
go somewhere else?

It is presumed that Smaug hears about the treasure within the Lonely
Mountain and decides he will take it, but as the dwarves had been mining
there for a long time there must've been a significant time period where
the treasure would presumably have been worthy of Smaug's attention but he
didn't either know about it or feel willing/able to take it.What was the
trigger for Smaug to attack at that p

I remember a particular story in a comic in the UK (could have been a US
import though), it regards a couple on a honeymoon cruise on a liner.The
ship picks up someone in a lifeboat (or directly from the sea?), but it
turns out that this person has some sort of disease that turns the victim
into an overgrown monster (bit hulk-like). The disease is passed on by
touch, and spreads through the ship l

Did Tolkien the linguist intend for the name of the dragon Smaug to be
pronounced "Smog" [IPA: /smɒɡ/ or /smɔːɡ/]? The trailer for the second
installment of The Hobbit trilogy pronounces the word (pronounced
'sma-ow-g' [IPA: /smaʊɡ/]) entirely differently than the way I have been
reading it for all these many years.

Wikipedia article on the episode. It is clear to me that the Lazarus from
the normal universe wanted to meet the Lazarus from the anti-matter
universe, and if that would happen both universes would be destroyed. The
good Lazarus (from the anti-matter universe) asked Kirk to help him trap
Lazarus in the corridor with him. Under what circumstances would both
universes be obliterated? Is it if both L

There are clearly spells for manipulating memory.Some, can give you new
implanted memory (e.g. Hermione giving her parents new life with no
daughter, when she Witness-Protection-Style moved them away during the
Trio's search for Horcruxes).If so, why does there seem to be no spell to
teach people useful stuff? E.g. "eat this magical tablet and know all about
Goblin Rebellions"... "cast this charm